Global Film Emperor

Chapter 200 Assistant Director Guo?
"Director Guo, it's been a long time."

"Yes, it's been almost four years, hasn't it?"

The two embraced lightly. Guo Mingde looked at Lu Ze's face with a sense of melancholy and disbelief. He really hadn't expected Lu Ze to have fallen to this state.

In the entertainment industry, luck, talent, resources, and background are all indispensable for success. And these are just the basics. The most important thing is your emotional intelligence and whether you have audience appeal. Only if you meet all these criteria will you have a chance to succeed.

It's just a possibility.

At the time, Guo Mingde didn't think that much about it. He just felt that his friend's company was short of people, so he put Lu Ze in the spotlight. He didn't expect Lu Ze to become a big star. He just hoped that Lu Ze could become a reserve actor for Qian Shijia and enrich the number of artists. To put it bluntly, he was just there to make up the numbers.

But what's strange is that Lu Ze's rise to the top wasn't meteoric; he climbed the ladder step by step through sheer hard work and determination, without ever stumbling or falling. He steadily proved his abilities to the entire nation.

If Guo Mingde hadn't known that Lu Ze didn't believe in that kind of thing, he would have suspected that Lu Ze had gone to Thailand to invite a Kumanthong (a type of Thai spirit doll). Many people in the circle also thought that Lu Ze had invited a ghost.

After the two embraced, they sat down. Guo Mingde sat next to Lu Ze. Seeing the investor drinking alcohol while Lu Ze was drinking juice, he raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He poured himself a glass of baijiu and drank it as punishment.

Lu Ze chatted casually with Wang Zhen, occasionally answering the investors' questions, seemingly indifferent, but he was actually listening intently to the conversation between the investors and Zhuang Yu and Guo Mingde.

It was during the conversation that Lu Ze learned that this was something Tian Cheng had decided on herself in the past few days, and that Guo Mingde would serve as the assistant director in this film.

Lu Ze wasn't surprised by this. There's a hierarchy of disdain in the global film and television industry. Film, as the highest level, has always looked down on television. And if a television director wants to make a movie, many directors will choose to work on a film crew first to gain experience.

Guo Mingde is now in his early forties, so it's not surprising that he wants to make movies. However, to be an assistant director in Zhuang Yu's film crew, who has even less experience as a cinematographer than himself, is, frankly speaking, not a good fit for Lu Ze.

First of all, Guo Mingde is a well-known TV drama director in China. He has directed nine TV dramas so far, all of which have achieved good results. In particular, four of them are military dramas, which have become popular all over the country and have become classics.

And Zhuang Yu? He only has one film. Although "Mr. Tree" was a success, Guo Mingde's achievements in television dramas are also very impressive.

While a hierarchy of contempt still exists, you can't ignore the difference in seniority and experience between two people, can you? To create a hierarchy of contempt without considering the influence of the two people in film and television is extremely biased.

As for Guo Mingde, although he is not as tyrannical as Liu Ying on set, his attitude on set is also very tough, and he is a man of his word.

And what about Zhuang Yu? Lu Ze collaborated with him on a film. Lu Ze knows Zhuang Yu well. Don't be fooled by his amiable and refined demeanor. When it comes to his work, he has his own principles. He hopes that his films can express what he wants to express and have their own soul.

If these two were to clash and disagree on filming, Lu Ze could foresee a violent confrontation between them, a veritable clash of titans, with neither willing to compromise.

Thinking of this, Lu Ze looked up at the investors. This ridiculous idea must have come from them, but even if you think about it, you can't do things like this.

Lu Ze was at his wit's end. He turned to observe Zhuang Yu and Guo Mingde's behavior. Guo Mingde seemed perfectly normal, eating and drinking as usual, and was very calm.

Although Zhuang Yu felt the same way, Lu Ze could still sense that Zhuang Yu was somewhat dissatisfied. If Lu Ze could feel this emotion, then the cunning investors, who were as shrewd as foxes, must also know that Zhuang Yu was dissatisfied, but they just remained silent and did not offer any explanation.

Lu Ze didn't know what kind of conflicts of interest or favors were involved, after all, Tiancheng was one of the top companies in China, and the waters inside were incredibly deep.

Lu Ze naturally began to worry about the new movie. After all, the upgrade mission was still pending, and he was really afraid that the movie would fall apart because Zhuang Yu and Guo Mingde were fighting. Although he would still make money, what he cared about now was not the money, but the rating.

Currently, Zhuang and Guo get along fairly well, occasionally clinking glasses, but this will definitely not happen after the film crew leaves. On the contrary, Lu Ze will be thankful if they don't fight to the death.

Lu Ze and Wang Zhen exchanged a glance, both seeing the worry in each other's eyes. It was impossible for these two directors not to argue, given their different filming styles and the fact that neither of them was willing to hold back; they both poured tremendous energy into their work. It would be strange if they didn't argue, right? The dinner lasted until after 9 p.m. The big investor raised his glass and invited everyone to have a drink. Lu Ze was obliged to drink this one, so he poured himself a beer and downed it, thus ending the dinner.

"Sister Zhen, where are you going?"

"My driver is downstairs. We're staying at the same hotel, right? Want to ride back with me? We can have breakfast together tomorrow morning?"

Wang Zhen wasn't a big drinker, and although he hadn't drunk much, he had still had a bit too much. He squinted, leaned against the wall in the corridor, and answered Lu Ze's question.

"My driver is downstairs too. Okay, let's have breakfast together tomorrow morning. Let's go downstairs."

Lu Ze helped Wang Zhen downstairs. Zhuang Yu seemed to have something to discuss with the investors, so Lu Ze didn't wait for him. After putting Wang Zhen in the car, he also got into his own car.

As soon as he opened the car door, his phone rang. Sitting in the car seat, Lu Ze took out his phone. It was Song Qingmin calling. Lu Ze thought about it and realized that more than three months had passed. According to the speed of Hong Kong films, post-production should have been completed by now, which meant that "The Boss" would be released soon.

Because of his current health issues, Lu Ze is throwing himself wholeheartedly into his new movie. To be honest, he really doesn't want to attend any premieres right now, and he'd love to sleep on the floor at the set every night. But he has no choice; the contract requires actors to cooperate with the production team for promotion, or they will have to pay compensation.

"Director Song, this is Lu Ze."

"Aze, how are you feeling? The premiere date has been tentatively set for October 13th. Can you come?"

"I'm feeling much better now. October 13th, right? I'll arrive in Hong Kong on the 12th. Is that enough time?"

In Hong Kong, apart from the Lunar New Year film season, there's no talk of National Day or May Day film seasons. Usually, a master would calculate an auspicious date for the film to be released. Lu Ze knew this and wasn't surprised.

"If you have enough time, then I'll wait for you when you arrive in Hong Kong."

"dong dong dong"

"Okay, Director Song, I have something to attend to, so I'll hang up now. I promise I'll be in Hong Kong by October 12th. Oh, bye, Director Guo, what's up?"

Just after making a phone call to Song Qingmin, there was a knock on the car window. Lu Ze glanced around and saw Guo Mingde standing outside waving at him. After hanging up the phone, Lu Ze opened the car door and let Guo Mingde get in. He already knew what Guo Mingde's purpose was.

"I'm staying at the same hotel as you, so I'd like to hitch a ride. You don't mind, do you?"

By removing the phrase "let's stay at the same hotel," Guo Mingde's true meaning was clear. Although he was looking at Liu Bin in the driver's seat, the "we" had nothing to do with Liu Bin. Lu Ze understood this perfectly. Moreover, Guo Mingde had done him a favor, and he didn't know how to bring it up. He simply took a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator and handed it to Guo Mingde.

"How could I mind? Brother Liu, drive. Director Guo, you've had your share of drinks, have some water."

"Oh, okay, thank you. Sigh, Lu Ze, you've really impressed me. You're really good."

Lu Ze didn't respond, and Guo Mingde didn't mind. The car became quiet, and then Guo Mingde fell asleep in the car, snoring like thunder, which was incredibly loud.

Lu Ze looked out the window at the passing cars, lost in thought. The dim streetlights shone into the car, making Lu Ze's face appear to be in and out of focus.
"."

(End of this chapter)